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In the light of the most recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, many “thoughts and prayers” were sent to the victims and their families. While that’s fine, renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson states, “Evidence collected over many years, obtained from many locations, indicates that the power of prayer is insufficient to stop bullets from killing school children.”

Now it is up to the schools, lawmakers and others with power to make changes to stop this school shooting epidemic.

Little is being done to effectively end school shootings and make schools safe. Every time there is yet another school shooting, the same people – the NRA, CNN, liberals, conservatives – resurface to debate gun control and Second Amendment rights. But this isn’t just a gun issue; it’s also a mental health issue. Something has infected the minds and mental health of children and teens all across America. The result is in a steady increase in suicide rates, school shootings, self-harm and depression.

Whether it’s because of social media, our society, bad parenting or (more likely) a combination of these, the problem is that these kids’ cries for help are not being answered.

Whenever there is a school shooting, investigators often discover that the shooter had left multiple clues to his plans. These individuals often have histories of violence, social problems and odd behaviors leading up to the events and more often than not they say something to allude to their plans.The major theme is all of this goes ignored. Simply taking the time to help them before they got to that point could prevent tragedies.

My question for America is: Where were your thoughts and prayers before the shooting? Bullying is sometimes sighted as the motivation behind school shootings. These young men are tortured individuals who feel alone and angry and it’s going to take more than just asking them how there day is to make a difference.

It’s time to stop looking at the gun and look at the person behind the gun. They are people like you and me but with psychological, social and/or emotional issues that corrupt their reasoning. They need help before they get so bad as to commit these acts. The young men who commit these shootings are rarely just pure evil and out to destroy the lives of others. They are people often with deep-seated problems that often go ignored because they didn’t get help.